Cameron rejects offshore funds

Source:Reuters Published: 2016-4-7 0:48:01

The impact of the ‘Panama Papers’ felt around the world

Prime Minister David Cameron, his wife and their children will not benefit in the future from any offshore funds or trusts, a spokesman said on Wednesday as more countries and organizations are involved in the "Panama Papers" leaks.

Cameron's late father, Ian, was among the tens of thousands of people named in leaked documents from Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca, which showed how the world's rich and powerful are able to stash their wealth and avoid taxes.

The leaked documents from a Panamanian law firm that specializes in setting up offshore companies have shone a light on the finances of politicians and public figures from around the world, causing public outrage over how the powerful are able to hide money and avoid tax.

After having at first described it as a private matter, Cameron's office said on Tuesday that he and his family did not benefit from any such funds at present. Cameron also said he did not own any shares or have any offshore funds.

Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said on Wednesday he had placed his assets in an offshore trust to separate his business and political interests after he took office and not to minimize tax, declaring the arrangements were transparent.

Ukraine's fiscal service will examine the documents relating to President Poroshenko's offshore assets, the head of the service, Roman Nasirov, said on Tuesday.

Swiss police raid the headquarters of the European soccer body UEFA in Nyon on Wednesday to gather information about a contract reportedly signed by former UEFA official Gianni Infantino, now head of the global soccer body FIFA, that was reported in the Panama Papers.

Besides, Iceland's government sought to avoid early elections on Wednesday by picking a replacement for the prime minister who stepped aside over links to an offshore company, as the "Panama Papers" leaks cast the tiny country into a political maelstrom.

Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson exited on Tuesday after leaked documents from a Panamanian law firm showed his wife owned millions of dollars worth of previously undisclosed shares in a company that held debt from failed Icelandic banks.

In Asia, British banker Nigel Cowie, who lived in North Korea for more than 20 years and had been the head of its first foreign bank, registered a offshore company for the bank in the British Virgin Islands, the Guardian reported.

The company is allegedly used by the isolated and heavily sanctioned state to fund its nuclear quest and sell weapons.